The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-09-11
Traces of rain.
ALASKA'S NATIVES.

Miss Kate Fields Views Their Grievances
Her Collection of Curios.
San Francisco Chronicle
Miss Kate Field, the weil-known lecturer and
writer, returned from Alaska on Tuesday, by
the steamship George w. Elder. To a reporter,
yesterday, she said.
ALASKA is deeply interesting country and
it has been shamefully treated by the United
States government The United States acquired
tho country twenty years ago. and up to 1876 it
was under military rule. Then that with
drawn, and for ten years there was govern
ment whatever. and even now the Probate Court
and the United States commissioners can hardly
be called that. This is not just to the people
there, either Indians whites When the
country purchased it was distinctly under
stood that schools were to be established for the
education of the Indians and white children.
Now. after the lapse of twenty years, they are
only talking of building school houses.
1.-The Alaska Indians are different kind OF
people from the Indians here, aud the govern
ment has never understood with whom it had
to deal. Instead of the Indians improving un-
der its care. since nothing has been done
towards educating them, they hsve become ut
terly demoraliZed by contact with the whites.
This is particularly the with the women.
The government is responsible for this demorali-
cation. The natives are remarkably ingenious
and will require but little training to become
good citizens One earn living easily
there that there is no hard work. They have
but to cast the line set the seine. and are
piled with fish: or. if they want game they
have but to take the gun and they get all
they WISH The natives possess remarkable
powers of imitation Here is some of their
work" and Miss Field showed the reporter some
of the curios collected during her trip.
To explain what thoy could do silversmlths,
Miss Field exhibited engraved silver band
which she wore upon her arm. the engraving Of
which was work of skill. The collection COM
prses eiosely-woven mats. with Greek pattern.
worked in them. and curiousy carved ''totums"
or family histories, which. Miss Field eaid,
stood outside the Indian huts to the height OF
Of the fathers side of the family and the other
the mothers. All the natives belong to the
Bear or Eagle family, and the uppermost carved
figure on the totum is either an eagle or a bear.
The collection also comprises miniature canoes
of the Alaskan and Chinook patterns. 'medi-
cine" rattles carried by the "medicine-men,"
shepherds pipe, like that carried by peasant in
one of Watteau;s pastorals; native drums and
tambourines woven baskets; ladle in the
shape Of an eagle; stone-scooping knife. with
which the natives formerly dug out their ca
noes; a native bling layout, consisting OF
thirty pieces of highly polished hard wood;
strange carved wooden spoons, some of which
are over 200 years old; charms in the shape Of
fishes and many other objects of interest
A Chilcat blanket was shown by Miss Field,
upon which is related the entire history of the
the people. Every Chilcat woman possesses
of these blankets, which woven of the
wool of the mountain sheep and take about
three months patient labor to make. The dyes
with which the blanket is colored are obtained
from roots, and the natives have variety OF
them from which they obtain many colors and
with which they dye their baskets and other
work They have adopted aniline dyes,
however, and this, in Miss Fields opinion,
spoiled their work from an artistic point OF
view.
To show the initiative powers of the Indians,
Miss Field exhibited hat woven of straw in
the Chinese fashion, which had been copied by
the natives from the hats seen by the Chinese
brought over to Alaska by Captain Meares
many years ago. navy officers cap. initiated
In straw, was also shown.
In ending the interview Miss Field said that
the government should do somethingsfor Alaska.
for the natives were not people to be disposed.
to say nothing of the whites there. she aid no
As,atic origin of the Alaskan Indians, but she
said that in her mind there was no DOUBT that
Japanese iunks had been wrecked on the coast
and that there was strain of Japanese blood
running through the native race.